Afghan staffer survives assassination attempt, amid growing Indo-Afghan ties raising concerns in Pakistan.
New Delhi: In a dramatic turn of events on Tuesday, an Afghan staffer at the Indian consulate in Jalalabad, which has been non-operational since 2020, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. The incident occurred when unidentified gunmen opened fire on the vehicle carrying the staffer, which led to the death of his driver and left another person injured.
A source in Kabul, on the condition of anonymity, revealed to The Sunday Guardian that Wadood Khan, the primary target of the attack, survived the assault. Khan, who had worked at as a translator at the Indian consulate in Jalalabad before its closure in 2020, has faced numerous personal challenges, including family and financial disputes, rivalries, and even kidnapping a decade ago, the source added.
After the departure of Indian diplomats from the Jalalabad consulate in 2020, a few local staffers continued to work there, people familiar with the matter said. Reports also claim that after the takeover by the Taliban in 2021, Khan left Afghanistan and went to India. He reportedly returned to Jalalabad to work at the defunct consulate just a few months back. Although the attack was initially believed to have political motivations, the source dismissed it, attributing it instead to personal rivalries stemming from Khan’s troubled past. The source highlighted that this incident should not be viewed as an attack on India or as a threat to the strengthening ties between India and Afghanistan. The attack has raised concerns about the security situation in Afghanistan which is now under the control of Taliban.
It is pertinent to note that after the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government in 2021 and the subsequent takeover by Taliban, India closed its embassy in Kabul, along with its three other consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif, withdrawing all diplomats and officials. However, New Delhi re-established a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan by sending a technical team to Kabul in 2022.
As reported earlier by The Sunday Guardian, New Delhi and Kabul are continuously engaging with each other, with signs of growing ties becoming evident after a Taliban-appointed official was posted to Afghanistan’s consulate in Mumbai to head the mission in November. Afghanistan, still grappling with a severe economic crisis, security concerns and lacking global recognition, is eager for Indian investment in the mining sector.
However, the growing Indo-Afghan alliance has raised concerns in neighbouring Pakistan.
Sources suggest that Pakistan is not pleased with the strengthening ties between New Delhi and Kabul, with Pakistan-based social media accounts reportedly amplifying negative narratives to disrupt the momentum of this growing relationship.
A Kabul-based source stated, “Pakistan, which is itself facing severe internal issues, is worried about the growing ties between Delhi and Kabul. They are worried that this might damage their regional influence and will attempt to undermine it, but this partnership will not be derailed.”